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'Pope John XXII' (1249 – December 4, 1334), born 'Jacques Duèze' (or 'd'Euse'), was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy (1309-1377), elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France. Like his predecessor, Clement V, he centralized power and income in the Papacy, living a princely life in Avignon. He opposed Louis IV of Bavaria as emperor, and Louis in turn invaded Italy and set up an antipope, Nicholas V. During this conflict, Pope John excommunicated Franciscan friar and Scholastic scholar William of Ockham.
Pope John XXII also faced controversy in theology.
He was the last Pope to say that heaven (specifically the beatific vision) was delayed until Judgment Day.
He condemned the popular German mystic Meister Eckhart as heretical.

Contents

Biography

Relations with the Mongols

Miscellaneous

Notes

References

See also

External links

Biography

He was the son of a shoemaker in Cahors. He studied medicine in Montpellier and law in Paris.
The two-year gap (''sede vacante'') between the death of Pope Clement V in 1314 and the election of John XXII in 1316 was due to extreme disagreement between the cardinals, who were split into two factions. After two years, Philip V of France (1316–22) finally managed to arrange a conclave of twenty-three cardinals in Lyon. They duly elected Jacques d'Euse Pope John XXII and he was crowned in Lyon. He set up his residence in Avignon rather than Rome, continuing the Avignon Papacy forced by King Philip IV in 1309 that would end in 1377.
John XXII involved himself in the politics and religious movements of many European countries in order to advance the interests of the Church. This made him a very controversial pope at the time.
Before John XXII's election a contest had begun for the imperial crown between Louis IV of Bavaria (1314–47) and his opponent, Frederick I of Austria (1308–30). John XXII was neutral at first; but in 1323, when Louis IV had won and became Holy Roman Emperor, the Guelph (papal) party and the Ghibelline (imperial) party began a serious quarrel. This was partly provoked by John XXII's extreme claims of authority over the empire and also partly by Louis IV's support of the spiritual Franciscans, whom John XXII condemned for their insistence on evangelical poverty and their belief that mendicant friars would replace the priesthood and sacraments of the Church. Louis IV was assisted in his doctrinal dispute with the papacy by Marsilius of Padua, and later by the British monk William of Ockham. Louis IV invaded Italy, entered Rome and set up Pietro Rainalducci as antipope Nicholas V (1328–30). The project was a fiasco, and Guelphic predominance at Rome was later restored. However, Louis IV had silenced the papal claims, and John XXII stayed the rest of his life in Avignon.
Pope John XXII was involved in a theological controversy involving the Beatific Vision. Beginning before he was pope, he argued that those who died in the faith did not see the presence of God until the Last Judgment. The point is important to Catholics, since if the dead are not in the presence of God, then the whole idea of prayers to the saints would seem to be undermined. John XXII continued this argument for a time in sermons while he was pope, although he never expressed his argument as an ''ex cathedra'' teaching. He eventually backed down from his position, and agreed that those who died while in the faith do indeed enjoy the Beatific Vision.
John XXII was not considered to have become a heretic despite his denial for many years of the Catholic doctrine that souls of persons who die in grace are immediately admitted to the Beatific Vision since this doctrine was not formally established by the Church, a lacuna that his successor, Pope Benedict XII (1334–42), immediately filled by his legislation in the encyclical ''Benedictus Deus'' which formally made this doctrine a part of Church teaching.
Pope John XXII was also an excellent administrator and did much efficient reorganizing.
John XXII has traditionally been credited with having composed the prayer 'Anima Christi, sanctifica me...', which has come down to us in English as 'Soul of Christ, sanctify me...' and as the hymn, 'Soul of my Saviour, sanctify my breast'.
On Sunday 27th March 1329 John XXII condemned many writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical in his papal bull 'in agro dominico'.

Relations with the Mongols

In 1320, the Egyptian sultan Naser Mohammed ibn Kelaoun invaded and ravaged Christian Armenian Cilicia. In a letter dated July 1st, 1322, Pope John XXII sent a letter from Avignon to the Mongol Ilkhanate ruler Abu Sa'id, reminding him of the alliance of his ancestors with Christians, asking him to intervene in Cilicia. At the same time he advocated that he abandons Islam in favour of Christinity. Mongols troops were sent to Cilicia, but only arrived after a ceasefire had been negotiated for 15 years between Constantin, patriach of the Armenians, and the sultan of Egypt. After Abu Sa'id, relations between Christian princes and the Mongols were totally abandonned.^[1]

Miscellaneous

He is frequently discussed in Umberto Eco's ''The Name of the Rose'', and is also featured in Maurice Druon's series of historical novels ''The Accursed Kings''.
The previous pope named John was Pope John XXI. The last pope named John before that was Pope John XIX (1024–32), who was additionally really only the eighteenth pope named John. And there is no Pope John XX (see article for explanation).

Notes

1. Source

References

★ Patrick Nold, Pope John XXII and his Franciscan Cardinal: Bertrand de la Tour and the Apostolic Poverty Controversy (Oxford, 2003)

★ Guillaume Mollat, The Popes at Avignon (Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1963), 9-25

See also

★ Avignon Papacy

★ Declaration of Arbroath

External links

★ Catholic encyclopedia entry